THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional office in Cagayan Valley has more than 70,000 family food packs (FFPs), 41,480 of which have been prepositioned to various local government units (LGUs) even before Super Typhoon Goring entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).
“Currently we have 2,611 families affected by typhoon Goring, which is equivalent to 8,547 individuals covering the four major provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino,” Field Office 2 (Cagayan Valley) Regional Director Lucia Alan said in her report to DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian.
“Of the 2,611 Goring-affected families, 716 sought temporary shelter in evacuation centers,’ Field Office – 2 Regional Director Alan said.
On Monday (August 28), Director Alan reported to the Disaster Response and Management Group (DRMG) that her field office has already distributed food packs to the 2,611 families affected by Goring.
“We have 30,074 FFPs ready to be deployed from our five warehouses on top of the 41,480 food packs that have been prepositioned to LGUs,” Director Alan reported to DRMG Undersecretary Dianne Cajipe.
Director Alan said the FFPs were handed to affected families in the coastal LGUs of Aparri, Gonzaga, and Palanan, all in Cagayan province, which was severely affected by Goring.
“We are hauling FFPs from our warehouse for replenishment to LGUs in Northern Cagayan as we continue coordinating with LDRMCs (Local Disaster Response Management Councils) through our SWADTs (Social Welfare and Development Team),” Director Alan said.
As of Monday, Cagayan province continues to experience heavy downpour of rain and windy conditions particularly in the low-lying LGUs.
“We have heard local reports of barangays being flooded and we are vigilant and coordinating the sending of FFPs to those families affected in those areas. We still have enough NFIs (non-food items) at this time,” Director Alan said.
The DSWD has earlier directed the DRMG for the maximum stockpiling of food packs in all the warehouses of regional field offices, particularly those that are frequently hit by typhoons and floodings.
